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Social Europe

ET 2020 Working

Group on Vocational

Education and

Training (VET)

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The reuse policy of European Commission documents is implemented by the Commission Decision 2011/833/EU of 12 December 2011 on the reuse of Commission documents (OJ L 330, 14.12.2011, p. 39). Except otherwise noted, the reuse of this document is authorised under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY 4.0) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). This means that reuse is allowed provided appropriate credit is given and any changes are indicated.

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A report of the

ET 2020 Working

Group on Vocational

Education and

Training (VET)

Eight insights for

pioneering new

approaches

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1 .0 . Introduction . . . .15

1 .1 . Innovation and digitalisation in a changing world . . . .16

1 .2 . VET has enormous potential for innovation and digitalisation… . . . .17

1 .3 . …but VET systems need to build their capacity to provide more systematic support . . . .18

1 .4 . Report structure . . . .20

2 .0 . Understanding innovation and digitalisation . . . .21

2 .1 . Unravelling the dynamics of innovation . . . .22

2 .2 . Digitalisation: challenges and responses . . . .26

2 .3 . Defining the relationship between innovation and digitalisation . . . .33

3 .0 . The effects of innovation and digitalisation . . . .39

3 .1 . Widening access . . . .40

3 .2 . Changing how learners learn . . . .41

3 .3 . Shaping the outcomes of learning . . . .42

3 .4 . Effects on the efficiency and effectiveness of learning . . . .43

3 .5 . Effects on how learning is recognised and validated . . . .43

3 .6 . Recognising the complexity of effects . . . .44

4 .0 . Teaching and learning . . . .45

4 .1 . Innovations in pedagogy and learning environments . . . .46

4 .2 . Digital learning: from DVDs to artificial intelligence . . . .51

4 .2 .1: Online learning . . . . 51

4 .2 .2: Simulation . . . . 60

4 .2 .3: Digital assessment tools and credentials . . . . 65

4 .3 . Up-take of digital technologies in VET to date . . . .69

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5 .2 . The proactive role of VET in supporting innovation for sustainability and social goals . . . .84

5 .2 .1: The potential of VET in the social and green arenas . . . . 84

5 .2 .2: VET and social enterprises . . . . 86

5 .3 . Private-public partnerships for the EdTech market . . . .90

5 .4 . The need for intermediation . . . .91

5 .5 . Mobility . . . .93

5 .5 .1: Support for learner mobility . . . . 93

5 .5 .2: Support for teacher and trainer mobility . . . . 99

6 .0 . Policy, funding and governance for a new age . . . . 101

6 .1 . National/regional-level policies and initiatives to support innovation and digitalisation . . . . 103

6 .1 .1: National/regional-level strategies and initiatives . . . .103

6 .1 .2: VET’s role in regional innovation and smart specialisation strategies . . . .109

6 .2 . European policies and initiatives . . . . 113

6 .2 .1: Innovation and digitalisation . . . .113

6 .2 .2: Identifying and anticipating new skill needs . . . .115

6 .3 . Funding for innovation and digitalisation . . . . 119

6 .3 .1: National investment in innovation and digitalisation . . . .119

6 .3 .2: European-level investment in innovation and digitalisation . . . .121

6 .3 .3: Private sector funding . . . .127

6 .4 . VET organisation, governance and leadership . . . . 132

6 .4 .1: National/regional developments shaping VET . . . .133

6 .4 .2: Governance for high quality VET: companies, learners and other stakeholders . . . . 135

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7 .2 . Higher skills and higher VET . . . . 144

8 .0 . Vision, viewpoints, insights . . . . 151

8 .1 . Vision and viewpoints: From responsive to proactive VET . . . . 152

8 .2 . Eight insights . . . . 153

8 .2 .1: Impact of innovation and digitalisation on VET . . . .153

8 .2 .2: Building the capacity of VET to support innovation and digitalisation . . . .156

Glossary . . . . 161

Annexes . . . . 169

Annex One: Mandate . . . . 170

Annex Two: List of Peer Learning Activities (PLAs) . . . . 178

Annex Three: Keynote speakers . . . . 179

Annex Four: List of members of the VET Working Group (July 2018 - September 2020) . . . . 180

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Figure 2 .1: Innovation in education and training – key words and perspectives . . . .23

Box 1: A framework for creating environments for innovation in learning . . . .24

Figure 2 .2: Digitalisation in education and training – key words and perspectives . . . .29

Table 2 .1: Stages in Morel’s Matrix . . . .30

Figure 2 .3: Types of innovation in VET . . . .35

Box 2: Country responses in COVID-times . . . .36

Box 3: Learning through video making: evidence from the European Training Foundation . . . .47

Box 4: Romania – simulated training firms in initial VET . . . .47

Box 5: Omnia’s Edutech Bootcamp . . . .49

Box 6: SOLAS, Ireland – a game-based approach to delivering further education and training (FET) . . . .49

Box 7: GVETS: Introducing gamification in VET for social workers supporting migrant children . . . .50

Box 8: INDIRE, Italy – a multimedia resource bank facilitating ICT training . . . .52

Box 9: INTEF, Spain – MOOCs, NOOCs, SPOOCs, Edu Pills and Open Badge Backpacks in teacher training . .54 Table 4 .1: Strengths and weaknesses of online learning resources and courses . . . .55

Table 4 .2: Strengths and weaknesses of mobile learning . . . .59

Box 10: Augmented and mixed reality . . . .60

Box 11: Virtual reality applications in vocational education . . . .61

Box 12: Simspray – virtual reality spray painting . . . .62

Box 13: Lexplore, Sweden – artificial intelligence for reading assessments . . . .63

Box 14: Artificial intelligence challenge course, Poland - familiarising learners with AI . . . .63

Table 4 .3: Strengths and weaknesses of virtual reality, augmented reality and artificial intelligence . . . .64

Box 15: Czech Republic – DOVOS, digital online verification of skills . . . .66

Box 16: Competitive skills – National Open Badge – constellation of problem solving in technology-rich environments in Finland . . . .67

Table 4 .4: Overview of countries engaged in piloting Europass credentials . . . .68

Box 17: BlockCerts, Malta – blockchain in educational pilots . . . .69

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Table 4 .5: Summary of benefits and challenges of digital learning technologies in VET . . . .72

Table 4 .6: The innovation-digitalisation nexus . . . .74

Table 4 .7: Pedagogical innovation and digital technologies in VET: prospects and challenges . . . .75

Box 19: Samsung Digi Pass, Estonia . . . .81

Box 20: Berufenet, German Public Employment Services (PES) – online career advice portal . . . .82

Box 21: Portugal’s INCoDe – promoting social inclusion through training units on digital literacy . . . .84

Box 22: VET, sustainability and the circular economy in Belgium . . . .85

Box 23: Germany – Federal initiative for sustainability in VET . . . .86

Figure 5 .1: The spectrum of social enterprises (arranged by legal form and revenue source) . . . .87

Box 24: The social enterprise – inspiring practices from Ireland . . . .88

Box 25: VET and social entrepreneurship . . . .89

Table 5 .2: System-level challenges of innovation and digitalisation in VET . . . .92

Box 26: Boosting VET cross-border mobility between Luxembourg, Germany and France . . . .95

Box 27: Initiatives to strengthen international VET mobility . . . .97

Box 28: Examples of national strategies including innovation in VET . . . . 104

Box 29: Digitalisation in national VET legislation and strategies . . . . 105

Box 30: Lithuania – Interactive e-learning tool to support teachers and trainers (IMP) . . . . 107

Box 31: I-coaches, the success factors . . . . 108

Table 6 .1: How VET could help address weaknesses in regional innovation strategies . . . . 109

Box 32: Cedefop – online job vacancies (OJV) . . . . 116

Figure 6 .1: European framework for digitally competent educational organisations . . . . 118

Box 33: National initiatives funding innovation and digitalisation for VET excellence, Germany . . . . 119

Box 34: SOLAS, Ireland – innovation through collaboration fund . . . . 120

Box 35: Learning Centres, Sweden – bridging the digital divide . . . . 121

Box 36: INNOVET . . . . 121

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Figure 6 .3: Distribution of TO10 eligible costs by area of intervention in the EU* . . . . 125

Box 38: ESF funding for digitalisation in VET, Luxembourg . . . . 126

Figure 6 .4: General overview: 2016–2019 development of EdTech investments in key markets per annum . . . . 128

Figure 6 .5: EdTech venture capital investment in Europe 2014–2019 . . . . 129

Figure 6 .6: Development of European EdTech venture capital investment from 2014–2019 . . . . 130

Figure 6 .7: Total European EdTech Venture Capital investment by country, 2014–2019 . . . . 131

Box 39: The Trialog mobile app – daily mobile internship feedback for learners . . . . 137

Box 40: Examples of Centres of Vocational Excellence in Europe . . . . 141

Box 41: Didactic Initiative of Excellence in Higher VET, Poland . . . . 147

Box 42: Latvia – business incubator at Riga State Technical School . . . . 148

Box 43: Croatia – Strukovna škola Vice Vlatkovića . . . . 149

Box 44: Denmark – VIA University College . . . . 149

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Nicolas Schmit

European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights

Giving everyone the right to quality and inclusive education, training and lifelong learning is the first principle of the European Pillar of Social Rights . Now it is time to turn this principle into a reality . Boosting innovation and digitalisation in vocational education and training (VET) to create modern and flexible high quality VET systems, including at higher-level VET, is key to Europe’s recovery .

We need to think big, be bold and make the right choices about VET using innovation and digitalisation to deliver the skills needed by young people and facilitate the upskilling and reskilling of adults . This also means looking at reforms and investments . The Commission has proposed an unprecedented amount of funding for VET and skills in the Resilience and Recovery Facility and the next long-term budget for 2021–2027 . Leveraging innovation and digitalisation in VET is essential to successfully drive our economies and societies forward and master the digital and green transitions .

On 1 July, the Commission proposed a European Skills Agenda accompanied by a proposal for a Council Recommendation on VET, that Member States will soon adopt . I welcome the initiative of the EU education ministers to agree on concrete actions for the next five years in the Osnabrück Declaration .

But how can VET better embrace innovation and digitalisation to achieve the critical environmental, social and economic goals that Europe seeks? How can digital tools improve work-based learning, support upskilling and reskilling and also ensure greater social inclusion? How can we use public-private partnerships to leverage investments for innovation and digitalisation in VET? In what ways can VET proactively support innovation in our local and regional economies? And, of course, how do we make sure that more innovation and digitalisation in VET provides a genuine, high-quality learning experience to young people and adults to enable rewarding and sustainable careers? This is a snapshot of just some of the questions raised and answered in this report . Over the last two years a working group of national experts from Member States, EFTA and candidate countries, facilitated by the Commission, has been addressing such questions . This report presents the outcomes, showing how different countries have successfully introduced some aspects of innovation and digitalisation in VET . It identifies key insights for policy development along with good practices to inspire new approaches .

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Policy

rationale

There is great potential for innovation and digitalisation to boost high quality VET and higher VET . In turn, this could enhance the employability and personal development of young learners and people of working age, ultimately contributing to tackling the major environmental, social and economic challenges of our time .

Despite this promise, the potential of innovation and digitalisation in VET has yet to be fully exploited . Whilst higher education has traditionally been viewed as absorbing and stimulating innovation, the contribution of VET is often understated or unexplored . Meanwhile, climate change, the threat to biodiversity, the rapidly changing world of work, job polarisation, and new technological and digital developments (e .g . industry 4 .0, robotisation, artificial intelligence) mean that digital and green skills are now key to navigating a fast-growing and changing world . In particular, people of working age, regardless of their level of education or qualification, need to obtain an initial qualification and continuously update their skills or reskill to enter, re-enter or remain in the labour market .

Against this background, VET systems need to reflect and integrate these changes and redefine their role to support innovative processes and products .

ET 2020 Working Group on

Vocational Education and Training

(VET WG) 2018–2020

Over two years from 2018 to 2020, the VET Working Group worked to unpack the broad potential of innovation and digitalisation to support higher quality, more flexible and more modern VET, taking account of existing policies and strategies (e .g . smart specialisation strategies for local and regional development), tools (e .g . SELFIE for work-based learning, the self-reflection tool for digitally capable VET schools) and practices (e .g . case study examples and country approaches) . In line with its mandate, the Working Group explored a range of key topics linked to innovation and digitalisation, encompassing:

new pedagogical and andragogical approaches for teachers and trainers, e .g . what and how we teach and train, how we learn;

new learning environments and organisational developments in training institutions and companies;

the use of modern learning technologies in VET and higher VET, e .g . open educational resources (OER);

proactive and flexible VET systems supporting smart specialisation strategy and industrial clusters;

strengthening key competences by adapting curricula/training programmes and regulations responsive to rapidly changing labour markets;

governance and financing in terms of cost-sharing and investing in infrastructure;

quality and excellence in VET;

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To explore these topics, the VET Working Group conducted a total of 11 meetings, including face-to-face meetings and webinars, as well as peer learning activities (PLAs) in three Member States . In addition, the Working Group had a meeting in Helsinki to discuss the European Vocational Skills Week 2019 and artificial intelligence . This allowed synergies with other ET 2020 working groups, bringing together colleagues from digital education and adult learning working groups . Furthermore, the final meeting involved a joint session with the Adult Learning Working Group .

The VET Working Group also conducted an exercise to map Centres of Vocational Excellence (CoVEs) across Europe in late 2018 and early 2019, which helped to develop the concept of vocational excellence and assisted the development of EU support plans and a new EU initiative1 . A separate Centres of Vocational

Excellence Mapping report2 presents the findings of

this exercise .

While pioneering experimental and innovative practices, the Working Group also collected a comprehensive evidence base of good practice examples across the EU27, EFTA and candidate countries to act as inspiration for developing innovative VET . Throughout the mandate the Working Group aimed to use innovative tools and working methods to gather input from representatives (e .g . Mentimeter, Padlet) .

1 https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/erasmus-plus/actions/centres-of-vocational-excellence_en 2 https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=738&langId=en&pubId=8250&furtherPubs=yes

Report

objectives

The purpose of this report – the final output of the Working Group on VET – is to examine innovation and digitalisation with the goal of creating more flexible and modern high quality European VET . It considers the impact of innovation and digitalisation on VET as well as the ways VET might support digitalisation and innovation more proactively in the wider economy and society . It examines the challenges and opportunities in teaching and learning, the role partnerships and cooperation can play in VET and the governance and investment frameworks needed, taking into account trends such as ageing populations, globalisation, social inclusion and the circular economy . The report also takes into account the unprecedented economic and social disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as unforeseen opportunities with regard to digital technology fuelled by the crisis . This report was produced by the ET2020 Working Group on VET, consisting of representatives from Member States, EFTA and candidate countries, social partners, VET providers and European agencies (Cedefop, European Training Foundation (ETF), the Joint Research Centre (JRC)), as well as the OECD . The Working Group was coordinated by Helen Hoffmann and Norbert Schöbel of the European Commission, DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, and supported by Ecorys . The graphic layout was designed by Martin Straif, silver medallist in the WorldSkills 2019 competition .

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1.1.

Innovation and digitalisation

in a changing world

Vocational education and training (VET) is in a world of unprecedented change, a characteristic thrown into sharp relief by the COVID-19 pandemic . The global economy is experiencing rapid changes in the way goods are produced and services delivered . At the same time, the world faces the prospect of rapid and unpredictable climate change and environmental degradation . These trends come with significant social consequences . Society itself is being affected by digitalisation, with the internet providing unprecedented access to information and offering people exceptional levels of individualisation . However, this comes with significant risks of which ‘fake news’ is just one aspect . Such trends are having consequences for social life, citizenship and democratic participation that are only just starting to be appreciated .

Innovation and digitalisation are affecting how people work, with the emergence of new types of employment, such as in the ‘gig’ economy3, new

occupations and environmental challenges4 . They

are also affecting the skills in demand in the labour market, leading to upskilling and reskilling of the workforce and emphasising the need not just for

3 Hogarth, T. and Papantoniou, A. (2017) New forms of self-employment: the Hollywood model and the gig economy https://skillspanorama.cedefop.europa.eu/en/blog/new-forms-self-employment-hollywood-model-and-gig-economy Cedefop blog

4 International Labour Organisation (2019) Skills for a Greener Future. Geneva: ILO https://www.ilo.org/skills/projects/WCMS_706922/lang--en/index.htm

5 The Council of the EU has defined key competences as combinations of knowledge, skills and attitudes, and has identified eight key competences ‘which all individuals need for personal fulfilment and development, employability, social inclusion, sustainable lifestyle, successful life in peaceful societies, health-conscious life management and active citizenship’. They are: literacy; multilingualism; mathematical competence and competence in science, technology and engineering; digital competence; personal, social and learning to learn competence; citizenship; entrepreneurship; cultural awareness and expression. 6 See the set of studies commissioned by Cedefop on the changing role of VET https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/events-and-projects/projects/changing-nature-and-role-vocational-education-and-training-vet-europe

high quality initial VET (IVET) for labour market entry but also for high quality continuing VET (CVET) for the existing workforce . Skill shortages exist alongside deficiencies in basic skills; in the coming years more medium and high skills are likely to be needed, and VET at higher levels (beyond its traditional ‘home’ in upper secondary education or just above at EQF levels 4 and 5) will need to become more prominent . Key competences5 have become more important in

a world where occupational change is commonplace and new skills – such as skills for ‘green jobs’ – are in demand .

Innovation and digitalisation are intrinsic to these developments, both contributing to change but also a vital source of solutions to the challenges we face . Innovation is needed to cope with economic, social and environmental dynamism and instabilities . Digital technologies are already ubiquitous and are becoming further embedded into everyday life and work . In both IVET and CVET there is a need for innovative responses in teaching, learning and organisation, and for the effective deployment of digital technologies to build the flexible, high quality VET systems that can deliver the skills we need socially, environmentally and economically . VET is already changing its roles6 but does it need to do

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1.2.

VET has enormous

potential for innovation

and digitalisation…

There is a great potential for innovation and digitalisation to support high quality and higher VET . Yet, in general, the social and economic contributions of VET have so far been under researched and underappreciated7, with VET institutions often being

seen as simply providing skills rather than having a more extensive role in the innovation ecosystem8 .

Nonetheless, there is increasing awareness and recognition that VET has a much bigger role to play in both innovation and digitalisation9 .

VET is increasingly seen as a driver of innovation and is part of the Lifelong Learning Indicator for the EU Innovation Scoreboard . VET also prepares learners for occupations where creativity is necessary, drives new ideas in business and industry, and helps to close the skills gap (40% of workers being at risk of having their tasks at work replaced by machines)10 .

But more needs to be done . VET is undoubtedly well placed to respond to the skill challenges posed by digitalisation in the economy given its close ties

7 Dehmel, A.; Van Loo, J.B. (2014). HRD in the European Union. In: Poell, R.F.; Rocco, T.S.; Roth, G.L. (eds). The Routledge companion to human resource development. London: Routledge, pp. 505-518. 8 Hazelkorn, E. (2018) VET and Smart specialisation: a policy brief, Joint Research Centre 10 December.

9 See examples of the reports published by the Joint Research council on the contribution of VET to smart specialisation, including Hazelkorn (2018) idem; Edward, J. and Hazelkorn, E. (forthcoming) Skills and smart specialisation, Seville, Joint Research Centre.

10 OECD. (2016) Skills for a digital world: 2016 Ministerial meeting on the digital economy, background report, OECD: Paris, pp. 6 and 21.

11 European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (2012). Learning and innovation in enterprises. Luxembourg: Publications Office. Cedefop research paper; No 27. URL: http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/EN/Files/5527_en.pdf, Cedefop. 2015. Stronger VET for better lives, Cedefop reference series 98, Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, p. 71, URL: http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/publications-and-resources/publications/3067

12 ET 2020 VET Working Group (2019) Mapping of Centres of Vocational Excellence, https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=738&langId=en&pubId=8250&furtherPubs=yes

with business, the role of initial VET being at the interface of school and work, the fact that CVET is ideally positioned to upskill and reskill the existing workforce, and the continuing development of higher VET meeting demands for higher skills . However, VET systems are often not flexible enough to respond to the changing needs of the labour market: overall,

innovations in pedagogy and digital technologies tend to be implemented sporadically, forming a fragmented picture when VET systems are viewed as a whole; and there is a need for VET to respond to growing demand for higher-level skills by expanding provision at higher levels . Similarly, whilst VET systems are well placed to support competitiveness through the development and diffusion of new technologies, processes and services, e .g . through smart specialisation strategies11, their role in this

respect is in need of development12 . In the context

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1.3.

…but VET systems need to

build their capacity to provide

more systematic support

In this context, the VET Working Group (2018–2020) was brought together to address the question:

How can innovation and digitalisation boost high quality VET and higher VET?

In line with its mandate13, the VET Working Group

examined innovation and digitalisation in view of creating more flexible and modern high quality VET systems, taking into account key elements such as governance and financing under tight public budgets, VET learning mobility and internationalisation, as well as trends such as the circular economy and globalisation, and social inclusion . The Working Group also examined innovation and digitalisation

13 See Annex One.

14 Cedefop (2017) The changing nature and role of vocational education and training in Europe. Volume 1: Conceptions of vocational education and training: an analytical framework. URL http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/publications-and-resources/publications/5563

15 Cedefop (2019) The changing nature and role of vocational education and training in Europe. Volume 6: Vocationally oriented education and training at higher education levels. URL http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/publications-and-resources/publications/5570

16 Joint Research Centre (2017) Higher Education for Smart Specialisation The Case of Navarre, Spain. URL: http://s3platform.jrc.ec.europa.eu/ documents/20182/221449/HESS+Technical+report+Navarra.pdf/200cfdc8-9295-4e39-be5d-37d4e906313f

in VET’s broader sector context and how it links to other parts of the education and training system: the borders between IVET and CVET are becoming increasingly blurred14, whilst VET at higher levels

(HVET) continues to develop and expand15, as does

the link with research organisations and businesses as part of the ‘knowledge triangle’16 .

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Figure 1.1:

Model for exploring the topic of innovation and digitalisation in VET

Teaching & Learning

Cooperation &

Partnerships

Governance,

Funding &

Leadership

New appoaches

for VET

Excellence

Modern digital learning technogolies Adapting curricula to labour market needs

Higher skills and higher VET

Regional/local leadership Multi-stakeholder governance Funding for investment Policies and initiatives

VET for green and social goals

Centres of Vocational Excellence

Intermediation bodies

Private-public partnerships for the

EdTech market

Mobility and internationalisation New pedagogy and

andragogy for teachers and trainers

New learning

environments & organisational developments

This report is the culmination of the Working Group’s activities around these topics . As the report shows, the Working Group found that VET systems and provision need to be re-orientated in order to better support the major economic, environmental and social shifts taking place and to place VET in a better position to address future developments through innovation . VET linked to innovation and digitalisation has evolved in recent years, but more progress is still required to build the capacity of VET systems to embed innovation and digitalisation . Innovation and digitalisation in particular have the potential to assist the development of CVET and VET at higher levels where it is important to expand capacity to respond to developments in the labour market .

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VET is also a distinctive sector distinguished from other educational sectors by its strong links to employers and the labour market . As a result, it cannot simply ‘copy-paste’ practices from other educational sectors: whilst it can learn from experiences elsewhere, VET has to carve out its own innovation and digitalisation pathways that are appropriate to its stakeholders and especially to learners, employers and VET providers . To assist these processes, the report seeks to provide inspiration for countries to explore how to best make use of innovation and digitalisation in their VET systems by looking at existing European practices, including through EU support . An important way in which the report does this is by showcasing examples of how to innovate and implement digital technologies to inspire policymakers, practitioners and other stakeholders .

1.4.

Report

structure

The report is structured as follows:

Chapter 2 provides an introduction to innovation and digitalisation, concluding with a definition to underpin the report .

Chapter 3 presents the evidence on the effects of innovation and digitalisation .

Chapter 4 explores the ways innovation and digitalisation are shaping teaching and learning .

Chapter 5 looks at how VET can work with stakeholders in its wider environment to achieve its goals through cooperation and partnerships .

Chapter 6 examines governance and funding arrangements that provide the vital framework for developments .

Chapter 7 looks at two new approaches to VET excellence in higher VET and Centres of Vocational Excellence .

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This section provides an overview of innovation and digitalisation in VET . It examines innovation

and digitalisation separately before looking at the relationship between the two .

17 2020 European Innovation Scoreboard. https://ec.europa.eu/docsroom/documents/42981 18 2019 Regional Innovation Scoreboard. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/industry/policy/innovation/regional_en

19 In the context of the European Vocational Skills Week 2019 in cooperation with the Finnish EU Presidency, a site visit took place to the Fazer company showcasing excellence in VET with its partners. 20 World Economic Forum (2014). Delivering Digital Infrastructure Advancing the Internet Economy. 7. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_TC_DeliveringDigitalInfrastructure_InternetEconomy_Report_2014.pdf. 21 From surveys REFLEX, the Research into Employment and Professional Flexibility (2005), URL:

http://roa.sbe.maastrichtuniversity.nl/?portfolio=reflex-international-survey-higher-education-graduates, and HEGESCO Higher Education as a Generator of Strategic Competences (2008), Lifelong learning programme, URL: http://www.hegesco.org/, –OECD. 2016. Innovating Education and Educating for innovation: the power of digital technologies and skills, OECD: Paris, p. 17 URL: http://www.oecd.org/education/ceri/GEIS2016-Background-document.pdf

22 The phenomenon according to which the productivity of education does not increase in line with investment is widely known as the Baumol disease. See OECD, 2016, Ibid, p. 14 for further information. 23 Bleed, R. (2007). ‘A Disruptive Innovation Arrives.’ Educause Review 42(1): 72. Barber, M., K. Donnelly, S. Rizvi & L. Summers. 2013. An Avalanche Is Coming: Higher Education and the Revolution

Ahead. London: Institute for Public Policy Research. As of 25 May 2016: http://med.stanford.edu/smili/support/FINAL%20Avalanche%20Paper%20110313%20%282%29.pdf

24 Hazelkorn, E and Edwards, J (2019) Skills and Smart Specialisation: The role of Vocational Education and Training in Smart Specialisation Strategies, Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union

2.1.

Unravelling the dynamics

of innovation

Over the previous decades roughly two thirds of Europe’s economic growth is estimated to have been driven by innovation . Additionally, according to data from the 2020 European Innovation Scoreboard, the performance of the EU innovation system, measured as the weighted average of the performance of the innovation systems of all 27 Member States, continues to grow, improving by 8 .9 percentage points between 2012 and 201917 . Accordingly, investments

in research and innovations are expected to generate up to 100,000 new research and innovation jobs between 2021 and 2027 . Moreover, for 159 European regions, performance has increased in the nine-year observation period . The 2019 Regional Innovation Scoreboard further demonstrates a strong convergence in regional performance with decreasing performance differences between regions . The most innovative regions in the EU are Helsinki-Uusimaa, Finland, followed by Stockholm, Sweden, and Hovedstaden, Denmark18 . Helsinki-Uusimaa is

one of the fastest growing regions in Europe showing strong cooperation in VET at local and regional level . An example of this cooperation is in the food sector between Fazer company (with a mission to produce new and creative plant-based foods and a commitment to sustainability), the Vantaa Vocational College Varia and the city of Vantaa19 .

In contrast to this broader context, the education sector, including VET, has traditionally been viewed as relatively static and not innovative20 . Indeed,

the OECD’s first international survey of teachers, teaching and learning (TALIS) found that just over one quarter of teachers believed more innovation in their teaching would be valued in their schools . Recent surveys of graduate perceptions suggest this might be changing: about 70% of tertiary education graduates working in the education sector think that their workplace is highly innovative compared to 69% in other sectors and industries21 . More generally, it is

crucial for European education and training to become innovative . Innovating would increase productivity, which has been slower to progress in education than in other sectors despite an increase in investment in education22 .

Moreover, education and training institutions

need to innovate to stay relevant in the face of technological changes, which make learning outside formal education easier and increasingly common23 .

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In the same way, it has been noted that massive open online courses (MOOCs) are changing delivery modes and significantly facilitating access to students for whom the constraints of the traditional/standard experience (time, location, cost, etc .) pose a barrier to entry25 . These developments are explored in more

depth in Chapter 4 .

At the same time, digitalisation in VET concerns the purposeful integration of digital technology in educational processes in order to efficiently achieve learning outcomes . Digital pedagogy finds optimal ways to complement traditional ways of teaching in the classroom with modern technologies that allow significantly greater access to educational content and

25 Hazelkorn, E. (2018) VET and smart specialisation: a policy brief, 10 December, p. 23.

encourage collaborative learning and teaching, both in physical and virtual environments . Significantly, the COVID-19 pandemic suddenly raised the question of how to effectively organise and implement entire educational process in a virtual environment . This shift posed new challenges for teachers and trainers such as how to make intensive use of digital tools and teach in completely virtual environments which has been particularly tricky when it comes to moving practical learning online .

There are many different ways of looking at innovation in general as well as in education and training, as the word cloud demonstrates .

Figure 2.1:

Innovation in education and training – key words and perspectives

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Unravelling the dynamics through which innovation occurs in education and training is crucial to be able to identify the key trigger points that stimulate innovation, in order to design and adopt appropriate policy interventions and measures to support innovations . The OECD (2017: 42-43) provides useful pointers in this respect and suggests that innovation occurs when change takes place among learners, content, resources and educators (including VET teachers and in-company trainers) that the OECD refers to as the ‘pedagogical core’ . Learners can, for example, change when family and the community are invited, which creates new types of learners . A change in content can occur through a greater focus on inter-disciplinary learning . A change

26 OECD, (2017). The OECD handbook for innovative learning environments, Paris: OECD, URL; https://read.oecd-ilibrary.org/education/the-oecd-handbook-for-innovative-learning-environments_9789264277274-en#page9

of resources could include new digital resources or redesigning facilities and learning spaces . The profile of educators may change as different stakeholders take responsibility for teaching . More support and training could also change the profile of teachers and trainers .

In addition, the OECD (2017) encourages a ‘7+3’ framework to achieve an innovative learning environment (where ‘environment’ means the ‘organic whole’ of learning encompassing more than the physical learning space and including the activity and outcomes of learning, management and leadership) . The box below presents this framework .

Box 1:

A framework for creating environments for innovation in learning

The OECD’s (2017) framework comprises seven principles for the creation of innovative learning environments plus three dimensions required to put the principles into practice effectively . The seven principles consist of:

1 . making learning central, encouraging engagement and learners to understand themselves as learners; 2 . ensuring that learning is social and often collaborative;

3 . being highly attuned to learners’ motivations and the importance of emotions; 4 . being acutely sensitive to individual differences, including in prior knowledge; 5 . being demanding to each learner but without excessive overload;

6 . using assessments consistent with these aims, with strong emphasis on formative feedback; 7 . promoting horizontal connectedness across learning activities and subjects, in and out of school26 .

And to put the principles into practice requires the following three dimensions:

8 . innovation in the ‘pedagogical core’, i .e . learners, educators, content, resources; 9 . becoming ‘formative organisations’ with strong learning leadership;

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To understand innovation, we also need to appreciate the position of individual practitioners: at some point most innovations, after all, involve what we might term ‘micro-decisions’ by teachers and trainers in classrooms and workplaces – even when large-scale change programmes are involved .

“Pedagogical innovations require deep changes in teachers’ practices and roles in which they are co-designers . Innovations in teaching and learning are not so much assimilated as adopted progressively and creatively by teachers who know how to use their own experiences as ‘anchors’ for implementation and innovation27 .”

Significantly, most teachers appear to be making decisions about ICT without the benefit of written school plans or strategies of any type: one survey has revealed that only one third of European students attend schools (of all types, general or vocational) that have written statements regarding the use of ICT28 .

27 OECD (2018) Teachers as designers of learning environments, Paris: OECD, p. 24

28 European Commission, (2019). 2nd Survey of Schools: ICT in Education. DG Communications Networks, Content & Technology. Pp. 23-25. URL: https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/2nd-survey-schools-ict-education

29 TALIS, (2018) Chapter 2. Teaching and Learning for the Future. Online version, accessed 25.02.20. https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/education/talis-2018-results-volume-i_d2a4bf35-en 30 TALIS, (2018) Chapter 2. Teaching and Learning for the Future. Online version, accessed 25.02.20. https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/education/talis-2018-results-volume-i_d2a4bf35-en

It cannot be assumed that all teachers and trainers will embrace the opportunity for change to the same degree and it would be unwise to assume this from a policy perspective . Indeed, change processes are not unproblematic . This can be a particular issue in relation to new technology where older cohorts of teachers and trainers – along with adult learners – may be conservative . There is substantial literature that demonstrates the challenges of change processes, not least because in general ‘it has proven difficult to understand what makes teaching “good” or “effective”’29 and hence understanding what

innovations might ‘improve’ teaching and learning represents a further challenge . Teachers and trainers may be understandably resistant to the risks inherent in change and require support to embrace it, e .g . through continuing professional development (see Section 6 .1 .1) . Significantly, it has been found that ‘openness to innovation (amongst teachers) seems to be lower in many European countries than in other parts of the world’30 . This pattern is hard to explain

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2.2.

Digitalisation:

challenges and responses

Digitalisation raises important opportunities and challenges for European education and training systems and labour markets . It is occurring at a

rapid pace across the EU, with developments such as robotisation and artificial intelligence leading to a fourth industrial revolution (industry 4 .0)31 . The

digital economy is expanding by more than 10% each year, significantly faster than the economy as a whole32 . In the EU, the demand for digital technology

professionals has grown by 4% annually over the last 10 years, 40% of European businesses cannot find appropriate candidates to fill their positions and the European Commission estimates that there will be a shortage of 756,000 ICT professionals by 202033 .

The Commission also highlights that 90% of jobs currently require some kind of digital skills, while almost half (44%) of the EU workforce has low basic digital skills, of which 22% has no digital skills at all34 . The average digital skill use varies across

EU Member States . For example, it is only 12% in Romania (41 .8% on average across the EU, in 2016 and 2017)35 .

As a result, the EU suffers from a digital skills gap, with the latter group at greater risk of unemployment, poverty and social exclusion; and a mismatch between labour demand and supply . According to the European skills and job survey, 30% of European employees possess qualifications that are not well-matched to those required by their jobs, while about 45% of EU adult workers believe that their skills can be better developed or utilised at work36 . VET has

a major role to play in the reskilling and upskilling of low and medium tech occupations to prevent a polarisation of the labour market and an increase in the digital divide . In addition, IVET is also crucial

31 See glossary for a definition of these terms

32 World Economic Forum. (2014). Delivering Digital Infrastructure Advancing the Internet Economy. 7. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_TC_DeliveringDigitalInfrastructure_InternetEconomy_Report_2014.pdf. 33 European Commission (2016), New Skills Agenda for Europe. Employment, Social Affairs & Inclusion. 7. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52016DC0381&from=EN

34 European Commission. (2018). Digital Education Action Plan. January 17, 2018. https://ec.europa.eu/education/education-in-the-eu/digital-education-action-plan_en. 35 Cedefop (2019) Skills panorama: digital skills use, URL: https://skillspanorama.cedefop.europa.eu/en/indicators/digital-skills-use

36 Cedefop (2019) European skills and jobs survey, URL: http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/events-and-projects/projects/european-skills-and-jobs-esj-survey 37 Europa (2017) The Digital skills gap in Europe. Fact sheet. Luxembourg, URL: https://ec.europa/eu/digital-single-market/en/news/digital-skills-gap-europe

38 OECD (2016), Innovating Education and Educating for Innovation: The Power of Digital Technologies and Skills, OECD Publishing, Paris. 68-69. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264265097-en

to train the labour force in the skills of the future: it is estimated that 65% of children entering primary school today will work in occupations that do not currently exist37 .

Against this backdrop, there are many reasons why education and training stakeholders should consider the growing relevance and implications of digitalisation and digitalisation-based innovations . Fundamentally, technology can redefine and transform:

who learns, e .g . by opening up learning to new groups of people;

who educates, e .g . the tutor posting videos on Instagram to global audiences;

the relationships between teachers and learners38 and amongst learners, e .g . digital

platforms enable collaboration such as through shared online writing spaces;

approaches to learning, e .g . enabling customisation and providing instant, real-time and sometimes more detailed and accurate feedback to learners;

learning content and resources, e .g . by opening up knowledge that was once inaccessible or promoting 21st century skills using media that are commonplace outside the place of learning;

learning spaces, e .g . by opening up the virtual, online world and enabling learning anytime, anywhere through mobile devices;

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An important question is: where does the demand for digitalisation in VET come from? There are three sources of demand:

1 . Companies, sectors and professions

undergoing changes as a result of digitalisation are likely to express a need for a corresponding digitalisation in VET to meet new digital skill needs . These needs vary considerably across sectors and professions, however39, and also

by company size, with SMEs facing particular challenges in this regard . Some sectors and occupations (e .g . automotive manufacturing) have undergone and continue to experience significant and rapid changes, whilst others (e .g . cleaning) remain relatively untouched, so far . SMEs may struggle to embrace product and process innovations and also to upskill their employees in response to digitalisation . In this context, VET’s response to digitalisation is likely to be – and indeed needs to be – differentiated .

2 . Teachers and trainers are likely to signal a desire for e-learning tools either in response to needs detected in the industry and/or because of a wish to realise the types of pedagogical and organisational benefits of digital learning noted above . Given the variation of the extent of digitalisation across the industry, it is likely that in sectors/professions of relatively little technological change, a shift to digital teaching methods is likely to be driven from within VET itself, by teachers, trainers and school authorities .

3 . Learners may articulate a demand for digitalisation where they are already in work and experiencing digitalisation; and younger learners may desire digitalisation as a result of their exposure to digital technologies and their new skills and expectations with respect to how to learn (e .g . informality and instant engagement) . Indeed, this can be a key and challenging source of demand since young learners frequently have better digital skills

39 Sectors and occupations vary considerably in their exposure to automation. See the work of Cedefop https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/research_and_innovation/ege/konstantinospouliakas_slides.pdf

than their teachers and trainers, creating a gap between demand for and supply of digital learning .

Demand for digitalisation in VET thus comes from all three of the main stakeholders: not just employers and professional occupations, but also teachers, trainers and learners . Employers in some sectors may drive demand for digital learning, whilst in other sectors the demand may come from teachers . Learners’ experiences with digitalisation may outpace those of their teachers, opening up a gap between demand and supply .

In this context, it is also important to consider the

different types of skill needs emerging in the industry as a result of digitalisation and how digitalisation in VET can meet them . Broadly speaking, it is helpful to recognise three main skill changes resulting from changes in production and services: general digital competence; specific, technical digital skills; and transversal skills, e .g . where new ways of working require strengthened or different mixes of such skills . VET can use digitalisation as an effective support for the development of general digital and transversal competences applicable across a wide range of sectors and occupations; and also technical digital skill development where the pattern of needs is likely to be more heavily differentiated by sector/ occupation, as noted above .

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biology or finance) and where teachers are more inclined and better prepared for student-oriented teaching practices, such as group work, individualised learning, and project work40 . Similarly, using ICT

in mathematics lessons and exposing students to applied mathematics problems has been shown to be positively associated with students’ self-reported use of strategies where they make connections between the task at hand, prior knowledge, other topics and real-life experience41 . This is not to say

that digitalisation causes such teaching and learning methods to be used, but the evidence certainly points to digitalisation facilitating teachers in their quest to adjust pedagogies and curricula to the needs of the modern world .

In summary, digital learning can not only support the development of general and technical digital skills directly needed by modern industry – and for life in general, as highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic – but also broader transversal skills like teamwork through its association with pedagogies like social/ collaborative learning, project-based learning and learner-centred teaching .

In light of these needs, what progress has been made with digitalisation in education in Europe? The European Commission, in its survey of the use of ICT in schools, shows that in upper secondary education, Nordic Member States, including Iceland, Denmark and Sweden, are clear frontrunners in terms of deploying (high-speed) internet to schools42 .

The report also shows the variations in ICT policies across Member States, e .g . through comparing the

40 OECD (2015), Students, Computers and Learning: Making the Connection, PISA, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264239555-en, p. 16

41 Echazarra, A. et al. (2016), “How teachers teach and students learn: Successful strategies for school”, OECD Education Working Papers, No. 130, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://dx.doi.org/10.1787/5jm29kpt0xxx-en. 42 European Commission, (2019). 2nd Survey of Schools: ICT in Education. DG Communications Networks, Content & Technology. Pp.

23- 25. URL: https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/2nd-survey-schools-ict-education 43 Ibid, 100.

44 TALIS 2018 Chapter 2. Teaching and Learning for the Future. Online version (no page numbers), accessed 25.02.20

existence of a written statement about ICT use at school level . Here, the findings revealed that there are large variations across different European countries for all International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) levels . In some Member States, at ISCED 3 (upper secondary level) only 3–15% of students attend schools that implement written statements about the use of ICT (Slovenia, Greece, Croatia, Hungary) while in other Member States, as many as 75–85% of students attend such schools (Estonia, Finland and the Czech Republic)43; although

some caution should be exercised here since whether schools have written statements may depend on wider organisational/managerial arrangements and the degree of autonomy of schools within education systems .

These figures show the scale and spread of ICT infrastructure and plans: but to what extent is ICT used in education and training? This question is addressed in section 4 (and 4 .4 especially) but here it should be noted that figures from TALIS show a significant rise in teachers letting students use ICT for projects or classwork since 201344 . Between

2013 and 2018, the largest changes that took place in Europe occurred in Finland, Romania and Sweden where the percentage of teachers reporting that they frequently or always let students use ICT for projects or classwork increased by 30 percentage points or more .

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Figure 2.2:

Digitalisation in education and training – key words and perspectives

Source: Generated by the ET2020 VET WG, January 2020

45 For an overview of these conceptual frameworks, see the summary by the education, technology and society research site, URL: https://sites.google.com/site/indicadoresperu/home ; Newhouse, P. (2002). The Impact of ICT on learning and teaching. Perth, Western Australia: Specialist Educational Services, URL: http://www.det.wa.edu.au/education/cmis/eval/downloads/pd/impactreview.pdf; UNESCO. (2003a). Consultative Workshop on Performance Indicators for ICT in Education. Bangkok: UNESCO Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education, URL: http://www.unescobkk.org/fileadmin/user_upload/ict/ebooks/ICTindicators/ICTindicators.pdf UNESCO. (2003b). Developing and using indicators of ICT Use in Education. Bangkok: UNESCO Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education, URL: http://www.unescobkk.org/fileadmin/user_upload/ict/e-books/ICTedu/ictedu. pdf UNESCO. (2003). Measuring ICT use in education in asia and the Pacific through performance indicators. Monitoring the information Society: Data, Measurement and Methods (pág. 9). Geneva: UNESCO, Bangkok. URL: http://www.unece.org/stats/documents/ces/sem.52/6.e.pdf; UNESCO. (2003a). Consultative Workshop on Performance Indicators for ICT in Education. Bangkok: UNESCO Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education, URL: http://www.unescobkk.org/fileadmin/user_upload/ict/ebooks/ICTindicators/ICTindicators.pdf Wagner, Daniel A., Bob Day, Tina James, Robert B. Kozma, Jonathan Miller and Tim Unwin. 2005. Monitoring and Evaluation of ICT in Education Projects: A Handbook for Developing Countries. Washington, DC: infoDev /World Bank, URL: http://www.infodev.org/en/Publication.9.html Inter-American Development Bank (2010), Projects for the use of Information and Communication Technologies in Education. A conceptual framework. Eugenio Severin C, URL: http://idbdocs.iadb.org/wsdocs/getdocument.aspx?docnum=35185543; 46 UNESCO (2003b). Towards policies for integrating information and communication technologies into education, Paris: UNESCO.

In this context, it is important to identify a coherent framework that helps us to understand digitalisation systematically . The literature uses various conceptual frameworks to reveal the ways in which digitalisation occurs in educational institutions45 . The Institute for

Information Technology of UNESCO (2003) has assessed the extent to which ICT has been integrated into education systems by applying ‘Morel‘s Matrix’ . This model suggests an educational system moves between four distinct phases:

(a) emerging, (b) applying, (c) integrating and (d) transforming46 . A given learning environment can

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Criteria: Phases:

Emerging Applying Integrating Transforming Vision limited, pragmatic, dominated by interested individuals driven by ICT specialists driven by subject specialists entire learning community involved Learning pedagogy

teacher centred teacher-centred; ICT is a separate subject learner-centred; collaborative critical thinking; preferred learning styles; collaborative; experimental Development plan and policies Accidental; restrictive; no planned funding limited; centralised policies individual subject plans for ICT; permissive policies ICT is integral to overall school development plan (budget, professional development, etc .) Facilities and resources limited and non-current digital resources; restricted access platform that is diverse and adopts different business models; aligned with specific content and pedagogies diffused access to various digital resources; supports implementation of these in various ways whole school learning and diverse learning environments; web-based learning spaces; distance education; student self-management software Understanding of curriculum ICT literacy; responsibility of individual teachers use of software and applications in discrete subjects (isolated) integrated; resource-based learning, problem-solving project methodology

virtual and real-time context modelling; integrated

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Criteria: Phases:

Emerging Applying Integrating Transforming Professional development individual interest training on ICT applications; unplanned subject-specific; evolving integrated learning community; innovative; self-managed, personal vision and plan

Community accidental some parental and community involvement subject-based community, providing occasional guidance; global and local net-works

broad-based learning community involving families, business, industry, organisations, universities, etc .; school as a learning tool Assessment responsibility of individual teacher; didactic; paper and pencil based teacher-centred; subject-focused learner-centred; subject-oriented; integrated; multiple media to demonstrate attainment continuous, holistic, open-ended, project-based learning community involvement

Source: Adapted from OECD, 201347

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The matrix shows that digitalisation occurs in four stages in educational institutions .

In the first stage, digitalisation emerges, but still has not penetrated the institution . The vision remains dominated by individual interests, learning and assessments are teacher-centred, there is no plan funding and there are limited resources .

In the second stage, digitalisation becomes applied, ICT evolves into a separate subject, ICT specialists start to drive the vision, centralised policies are published but limited, facilities and resources are diverse and varied in terms of their business model, there is an isolated use of software, unplanned professional development and some parental and community involvement . Assessments remain teacher-centred and tend to be subject-focused .

In the third stage, digitalisation becomes integrated . Subject specialists integrate digitalisation in their vision . They move the learning pedagogy to a learner-centred and collaborative approach, with permissive policies for individual subject plans for ICT . There is diffusing access to various digital resources and integrated, resource-based learning . Professional development evolves and a subject-based community emerges with global and local networks . Assessments become integrated and use multiple media to demonstrate attainment .

48 Europe’s Digital Progress Report, (2017). Human Capital: Digital Inclusion and Skills in the EU 2017. European Commission. https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/european-digital-progress-report 49 See also: Flavin, M. (2013). ‘Disruptive Conduct: The Impact of Disruptive Technologies on Social Relations in Higher Education.’ Innovations in Education 53(1). doi:10.1080/14703297.2013.866330 50 50 Bayne, S. & J. Ross. (2014). The Pedagogy of Massive Online Open Courses, the UK View. York: Higher Education Academy. As of 25 May

51 For a visual representation of digital forms of learning, updated every year, see Institute for Media and Communications research (Institute für Media und Competenzforschung), MMB Institut (2019) Digital Learning forms (Digitale Learningforme), p. 28, URL: https://www.mmb-institut.de/wp-content/uploads/mmb_Uebersicht_Digitale-Lernformen_2019.jpg

In the final stage, digitalisation becomes transforming . It involves the entire learning community . The learning pedagogy is amended to involve critical thinking, preferred learning styles and to be collaborative and experimental . ICT becomes integral to the overall school development . Various facilities and resources are available, including web-based learning and distance education . The web is integrated into the delivery of the curriculum, which contains a virtual element . Professional development benefits from an integrated learning community, where individuals can self-manage their development and the community at large, including families, businesses and industry . Assessments become continuous, holistic, open-ended, project-based and involve the learning community .

Innovations in education, particularly those resulting from new technologies, attract considerable attention and are to some extent a side-effect of the ubiquitous nature of ICT in society, with 71% of EU citizens being online daily or almost daily in 201648 . Yet, Bayne

and Ross (2014) highlight that it is important for technology to be integrated in a teaching and learning strategy49 . New technologies do not just support the

user to carry out tasks . They make learning happen in a different way, using a network approach rather than in the top-down manner of traditional lectures through new technologies50 . Hence, it is important to

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2.3.

Defining the relationship

between innovation

and digitalisation

It is clear from the foregoing discussion that innovation and digitalisation are closely related and both exhibit a broad range of perspectives . Indeed, distinguishing the two is hard to maintain on a practical level: much of the literature makes no clear distinction and suggests that digitalisation is currently the dominant driver of innovation in education and training . As the OECD has put it: ‘it is difficult to imagine innovation strategies in education without a strong focus on developing digital skills among students and learners’52 .

The definition included in the OECD’s Oslo Manual constitutes the most widely accepted definition of innovation and has been adapted by the OECD (2016) to education53 . A definition is also used by Eurostat,

which is valuable for being concise and easy to understand54 and the 2021–2027 regulation for the

European Institute of Innovation and Technology also provides an innovation definition55 . Drawing on these

definitions, the following definition relevant for VET is used in this report:

52 OECD. (2016). Innovating education and educating for innovation, OECD: Paris, p.65.

53 Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)-Eurostat. (2005). Oslo Manual for collecting and interpreting innovation data, 3rd edition. See also the adapted definition in OECD (2016) Innovating education and educating for innovation, OECD: Paris, p. 16

54 Innovation is the use of new or significantly improved ideas, products or methods where they have not been used before’. Eurostat (2012). Statistics explained, glossary: innovation. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Glossary:Innovation

55 https://ec.europa.eu/education/sites/education/files/document-library-docs/proposal-regulation-eit.pdf 56 OECD. (2016). Idem, pp 15-16

57 Hoareau McGrath et al. (2016). Governance and adaptation to innovative modes of higher education provision, final report, Erasmus multilateral project, p. 14, URL: https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR1571.html 58 Brennan, J., Ryan, S., Ranga, M., Broek, S., Durazzi, N., and Kamphuis, B. (2014) Innovation in higher education: final report, p. 5 URL;

http://www.lse.ac.uk/business-and-consultancy/consulting/assets/documents/study-on-innovation-in-higher-education.pdf

Innovation is the use of new or significantly redesigned teaching and learning tools, methods or environments (such as digital learning tools, MOOCs or virtual reality) or new organisational methods (for example using a new app or software to interact with employers) aimed at improving the quality of VET in response to environmental sustainability and social and economic needs.

In this definition, innovation implies the introduction of a new element and is different from change or reform56 . However, what is considered as new in

one environment may not be in another, hence, innovation is context dependent57 . In addition,

innovations are implemented at different speeds . Some innovations are slow and incremental rather than rapid and involving a sudden step change58 .

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It should be noted that not all innovation relies on digitalisation and not all digitalisation is linked to radical innovation . For example, arguably the most significant innovative trend of recent years, learner-centred education, does not depend on digital technologies . Although, at the same time, digitalisation can considerably aid this pedagogical development . Similarly, many recent organisational innovations (such as those described in Section 6 .4) do not depend on digital technologies .

On the other hand, it is easy to assume that digitalisation = innovation . But many forms of digitalisation do not significantly change how or where teaching and learning take place, though they may still be valuable additions to the repertoire of teaching and learning strategies:

‘[…] the mere presence of technology is not by itself sufficient to innovate […] nor should innovation be assumed to be synonymous with going digital, as this may only be reproducing traditional methods and pedagogies with a different format .’ OECD (2017)59

59 The OECD Handbook for Innovative Learning Environments, p. 46.

Where digital technologies do affect learning, it is evident that different digital technologies vary considerably in their effects on learning processes and, equally, the same digital technology may also vary in its effects . What makes the difference is how technology is used . For example, in schools, the advent of the internet and interactive whiteboards first enabled teachers and trainers to access more resources than ever before whilst often there was little impact on learning processes . However, the same technology also opens up possibilities for pedagogical change towards blended learning and ‘flipped classrooms’ .

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Figure 2.3:

Types of innovation in VET

60 Jorge Lopez, (2015). Types of innovation, constant contact tech blog. https://techblog.constantcontact.com/software-development/types-of-innovation/

Technology

Technology-led Demand-led

Existing

Existing

New

New

Learners,

systems,

providers,

companies

Expansive

innovation

innovation

Radical

Incremental

innovation

innovation

Disruptive

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As we will see later, not all innovations are radical and disruptive, nor do they involve sudden change: much progress is small-scale and incremental . Nonetheless, it is important to be aware of the overall nature of the changes starting to take place within VET learning environments in response to

61 http://ebooks.edu.gr/new/ 62 http://photodentro.edu.gr/aggregator/ 63 http://aesop.iep.edu.gr/

64 https://auth.e-me.edu.gr/?eme=https://e-me.edu.gr/&cause=no-token&eat=8bee1630b0729a95fc493d735b00858c 65 https://eclass.sch.gr/

66 This example is based on an internal document prepared specifically for this report by Greek members of the Working Group based on recent articles, parliamentary discussions and E-twinning materials. For more information, please see: https://seminars.etwinning.gr/

the radical and disruptive changes taking place outside, and which were given a further boost by the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused a sudden jump in the necessity of remote online learning as evidenced in the country examples below .

Box 2:

Country responses in COVID-times

Greece and remote learning during COVID-19

The Hellenic Ministry of Education has adopted a series of actions related to promoting education during the COVID-19 pandemic . Distance education platforms and software that extends students’ access to all educational levels of formal schooling have been implemented, encompassing 399 vocational upper secondary schools and public institutes of vocational training . As regards public secondary/non-tertiary VET (IEK), the percentage of courses translated into non-synchronous education reached up to 97%, with trainers actively participating in distance education at 81%, and 96 .5% of registered students participating .

More specifically, three pillars of distance learning have been developed: synchronous teaching methods (live lessons on Webex platforms for all levels of education), non-synchronous teaching methods (educational material on websites and platforms, available to all teachers and students of all educational levels) and educational television programmes for elementary school students .

Remote learning has been made accessible through internet connections offered free of charge or by phone . Platforms with digital educational material were also accessible to all and included e-books61, digital

educational material62, digital seminars through the Aesop platform63, and other e-tools including WebEx

meetings, e-me64 and e-class65 . Disadvantaged students were able to borrow electronic equipment donated

by the private sector or bought by municipalities to help them study at home when schools were closed . In terms of support measures for teachers, daily online training sessions were held to introduce synchronous teaching methods . In addition, the Hellenic Support Service for the eTwinning action offered an online course ‘Staying home with eTwinning’ . This aimed to train teachers in the use of concurrent and non-concurrent models of online teaching .

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